Nitto ATP Finals 2023: Alexander Zverev overcomes injury scare to beat Carlos Alcaraz on Spaniard’s tournament debut

Alexander Zverev overcame an injury scare to beat Carlos Alcaraz as the Spaniard’s debut at the Nitto ATP Finals ended in defeat.

The German, a two-time champion at the event, took victory 6-7(3) 6-3 6-4 in Turin to take control of the Red Group.

Speaking after the match, Zverev allayed fears regarding his injury.

He said: “I didn’t twist my ankle. I just kind of slipped and probably pinched my Achilles a little bit so it was kind of like a nervy pain for a while but I don’t think any damage has been done, I hope not.

“We’ll see when it settles down. It’s nothing comparable to Paris [where he suffered a serious ankle injury at Roland-Garros in 2022] I think.”

Zverev finished the match with 16 aces and a first serve percentage of 77%.

“I think that helped me a lot,” he added.

“I mean, saving the break point in the first game of the second set helped me. Obviously, you don’t want to go to down a set and a break against the No. 2 player in the world.

“It’s always nice to beat the best players in the world and he’s definitely one of them and it’s special to win on this court again.”

Zverev struck first as he broke to lead 2-1 following a loose game from Alcaraz.

A mishit forehand from Alcaraz saw Zverev move further ahead, but the world No. 2 broke back and recovered to 3-3.

He then saved four break points in the seventh game after Zverev had fired a forehand winner into the corner to get to 0-40.

A love hold in the next game saw Zverev quickly get back on level terms.

Alcaraz looked for a swift hold of his own in the ninth game and a clever drop shot followed by a big serve down the middle got him to 30-0. But a backhand passing shot helped Zverev get to deuce and Alcaraz had to dig in to hold.

It was Zverev who found himself in trouble at the end of the set, though, as he faced two set points on his serve. He saved both with good serves but was fortunate with a third as Alcaraz put a volley wide when well placed at the net.

The miss did not cost Alcaraz as he proved the stronger player in the tie-break and let out a roar of “Vamos!” as Zverev hit a volley out to gift the Spaniard the opening set.

However, after missing a break point in the opening game of the second set, Alcaraz was broken by Zverev and quickly found himself 3-0 down.

Alcaraz managed to stabilise his own serve, but he was unable to deal with the relentless service game of his opponent in the second set.

On his way to taking a 5-2 lead, Zverev slammed the ball into the body of Alcaraz – no doubt leaving him with a bruising souvenir of their opening match of the tournament.

Despite Alcaraz taking a further game on his serve, Zverev took his tally of aces to 13 for the match to see out the set and force a decider.

Alcaraz’s blip in form in the second half of the season has seen inconsistent performances proving to be his undoing, and there was evidence of this on show once more.

His decision making was askew at times and failing to execute his trademark drop set left him 0-30 down towards the start of the third set.

It is hard to keep quality players down for long, though, and, in the very same game, he saved break point with the most delicately converted volley you could ever wish to produce.

However, it was another poor decision from Alcaraz which led to the first – and ultimately, vital – break of the third set going the way of Zverev.

At break point, Alcaraz served down the T, with Zverev returning on the stretch. Instead of tucking away a simple volley, the Spaniard decided to leave the ball – only to watch it bounce before the baseline.

Having made the breakthrough to go 3-2 up, there were gasps among the crowd at the start of the very next game as Zverev raced to his right to retrieve a crosscourt forehand from Alcaraz, only to jar his left leg.

After a long fight for fitness following a serious ankle injury at the French Open in 2022, the concern on the face of the German was clear to see.

Continuing to grimace through some clear discomfort, Zverev held to take a 4-2 lead.

When Zverev returned to serve once more, he was still moving gingerly from his earlier fall, but produced a stunning forehand passing shot at deuce before taking his advantage to leave Alcaraz needing to win his serve to stay in the match.

The 20-year-old obliged to love.

Alcaraz attempted to get Zverev running around the corner to play on the discomfort of his fall, but the German stood strong and served stronger to see out the match and take victory.